Red Roses Mean Love
Red Roses Mean Love is the first historical novel I've read by Jacquie D'Alessandro, and it was good.
Hayley Albright is returning home when she discovers a man who has been shot and left for dead. She brings him to her cottage and nurses him back to health. She grows to care about him very much.
The man turns out to be nobleman Stephen Barrett, who tells Hayley that he was robbed and that he is a tutor named Stephen Barrettson. This deception will allow him to recuperate without other people knowing who he is. Stephen wasn't robbed--someone is trying to kill him.
Hayley is delightful. I love unconventional heroines; Hayley is six feet tall and has been head of the household since her parents died. She provides for her siblings and her servants. She is affectionate and willing to say what she thinks. Though not wealthy, her family is a loving one.
Stephen's upbringing was the exact opposite. As a marquis, he grew up with wealth and privilege, but a shortage of love. This makes him wary about affection and kindness; when people treat him kindly, he wonders what they want from him. But he can't resist the charm and enthusiasm of Hayley and her family.
I enjoyed watching these two characters fall in love. However, Stephen hurts Hayley numerous times with his actions and words, and this happened too often for my liking. He makes it up to her, though, and I enjoyed the ending.
Red Roses Mean Love is a strong book; I give it 4 out of 5.
Alyssa
Labels: 4.0 reviews, c-e reviews, historical reviews
posted by Alyssa @ 10:50 AM
2 Comments:
I liked this one less than you. I found it a bit too cutesy, and I just couldn't like Stephen, basically because I hated how he treated Hayley. Sure, he had the best intentions, but ended up treating her like dirt most of the time. And she kept making excuses for him, blaming herself for his irrational actions.
Well, we had to disagree sometime! ;-)
I actually liked the more cutesy bits, which is a little surprising because usually humorous, quirky families drive me crazy. It worked for me, though. Stephen is definitely the weakest part of the story. Come to think of it, he probably should have had to grovel more. LOL!
If I were using a grading system, it would probably be easier to distinguish this book (probably a B-) from a book like Boy Meets Girl (definitely a B+), both of which received 4 out of 5. But after teaching college English for four years, I can't bring myself to grade like that. A 1 out of 5 may be painful, but it seems less painful somehow than an F. Hmmm, perhaps I could still add the plus or minus in there--so Red Roses means love would be a 4-. I'll give this some thought.
Alyssa
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